Honest Abe, stray cats and belly flops

Major Leaguers at their most quotable this week

Here are some of the notable quotes from around Major League Baseball this week:

"You look like Abraham Lincoln. That's hilarious."

-Prince Fielder on what he said to teammate Corey Hart, who dyed his blond hair and beard jet black as a way to break out of a slump.
(Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

"I've never been one to sit on my stats. My path to the Hall of Fame as a hitter is dependent on my continuing to go out and do my work."

-Will Ohman, Dodgers reliever, on not making an out in eight years and sitting on a .500 (2-for-4) career batting average after an RBI single on Saturday.
(Los Angeles Times)

"I didn't get fined for bungee jumping. That's more dangerous than [belly-flopping]."

-Ryan Dempster when asked about sliding on the tarp before Sunday's rained out game against St. Louis.
(Chicago Tribune)

"I wouldn't fight him with a bat in my hand."

-Tim Lincecum commenting on fighter Manny Pacquiao, who threw out the first pitch Tuesday for the Giants' Filipino Heritage Night.
(San Francisco Chronicle)

"I was drinking some caffeine on the trip because I was tired. Then adrenaline kicks in, you see the lights and you play through it. But I know I'm going to crash in my down time. I'm going to sleep well tonight."

-Luis Montanez, an Orioles outfielder who made his season debut on Tuesday with one hit, after having driven five hours from Norfolk to get to the game just 45 minutes before first pitch and then learning he was in the starting lineup.
(MLB.com)

"I've seen that before somewhere, with other animals -- maybe squirrels in Oakland."

-Rich Harden, reacting to a cat running on the field during the Cubs game against the Reds on Tuesday night.
(Chicago Sun-Times)

"Just to join that 500 club -- now I can say I'm in the club, and it's like getting your degree. Nobody can take that away from you."

-Gary Sheffield commenting on hitting his 500th career home run last week.
(Newsday)

"I was honored and, you know, it was incredible."

-Jason Giambi, now back with the A's, on receiving a nice hand from the crowd at Yankee Stadium in his first appearance back as a visiting player after spending seven seasons in pinstripes.
(San Francisco Chronicle)

"It was a situation where they were going to offer him a chance to be in the big leagues right away. With us, it was an insurance move coming out of Spring Training. We needed a guy who could play multiple positions, in case somebody got hurt early on. But we still have that in Chris Woodward, we have that in Matt Tuiasosopo. So, this was a chance to get him back to the big leagues, and I didn't want to stand in the way of that."

"I really like it here. I'm happy. I like being close to the Dominican, and I like the team. The guys are all really together. Everybody has everybody's back, and we're winning, too, with somebody different every game making the difference."

-Ronny Paulino, who says he is enjoying his time with Florida after 11 years in the Pirates organization.
(Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

"Seitz tells me all of the time, 'You know you can hit.' It's one of those things. You know you've just got to stay with it and get your work in."

-David DeJesus, discussing advice given to him by Royals hitting coach Kevin Seitzer.
(Kansas City Star)

"Or Ankiel can flat-out hit. It's good to see him get going."

-Ryan Ludwick, after teammate Rick Ankiel used one of his bats on Tuesday night in a three-hit game, on whether it was his bat that was the reason for the hit parade.
(St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

"I think nervous would be an understatement. My heart was pounding about 1,000 beats a second. I felt like I tried to keep my composure as much as possible, but it was tough tonight."

-Brad Bergesen, Baltimore Orioles pitcher , on how anxious he was prior to his Major League debut on Tuesday. In the game, Bergesen allowed just one earned run in 5 2/3 innings in a 10-3 win over the Chicago White Sox.
(Baltimore Sun)

"I'm not a big statistics guy, but numbers like that mean a lot. It was really important today, especially since we were thin in the bullpen."

-Ricky Romero, Toronto starting pitcher, talking about being able to pitch deep into games early this season.
(Toronto Globe and Mail)

"It was feeling OK. It's not like I'm going to feel like if I was playing there my whole career. ... Playing the right side of the field and then the left side is something that you're never going to feel comfortable [with] right away. It's something you have to get used to."

-Fernando Tatis commenting on his first career start at second base.
(Newsday)

"Adrian Gonzalez, if he played in just about any other market, would be a league MVP."

"There's really no theory to it. No real approach. I always played every day in the Minor Leagues, and in '04 I made the [White Sox] team. I didn't play very much, but I did come off the bench and had a little bit of success at it. I don't really attribute it to anything other than working hard early and making sure I get in the cage every day."

-Ross Gload on why he has had success as a pinch-hitter during his career. Gload has 30 hits in 99 pinch-hitting at-bats for a .303 average.
(South Florida Sun-Sentinel)